with bcacricket.org

Date Published: 2014-03-05

Summary: Report

Former Psychiatric Hospital star cricketer Henderson Cathcart to be laid to rest on March 6

Bridgetown, Barbados, March 5 - (www.bcacricket.org) - Henderson Cathcart, whose exploits as a prolific batting all-rounder for Mental (now Psychiatric) Hospital in the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) Division 2 championship in the 1970s and 80s made him a household name in the local domestic game, is to be laid to rest on Thursday, March 6.

And his former captain and workmate Emmerson Howard has described him as a "classic batsman, who had all the shots".

"I had the privilege of playing and working with Henderson from 1962 and during his career he was easily one of the most outstanding cricketers in the BCA lower division," Howard told BCAcricket.org.

Nicknamed "Blues", Cathcart once scored over 1200 runs in a Division 2 season and along with another top all-rounder Luther Wiltshire, made Mental Hospital a team to be well respected.

"Henderson was a classic batsman who was a joy to watch hitting the ball through the covers and along the ground. He had all the shots but his focus was on hitting the ball along the ground whereas Luther used to enjoy hitting sixes," Howard said.

"Henderson was recognised to the extent that he was invited to the Barbados trials at Kensington Oval under the captaincy of the now Sir Everton Weekes.

"He was not only an outstanding batsman but also an exceptionally good swing bowler. In those days he was so outstanding that every team which played against Mental, especially when they came to our home ground, would want to know who is this Henderson Cathcart?

Apart from Howard and Wiltshire, Cathcart played with the likes of Ossie Gill, Anderson "Del" Holder, George Griffith, Tennyson Springer and Ricky Rudder (Ramsay).

"I thought that the image which Henderson portrayed as an outstanding cricketer influenced how people viewed the Psychiatric Hospital," said Howard, who was also the Principal Nursing Officer at Psychiatric Hospital before becoming the Chief Nursing Officer in the Ministry of Health.

"It was a very positive influence."

Cathcart was a retired nurse at the Psychiatric Hospital and was Acting Nursing officer occasionally. He died on February 24 at the age of 70 following an illness. The funeral service will be held at St. Stephen's Anglican Church at 4 p.m, with the interment in the Churchyard.

Glowing tributes were paid to Cathcart by former team-mates and fans during the weekly cricket programme Mid Wicket on the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation.